Expectations of interest rate cuts and economic worries are driving gold prices up by nearly 2%, approaching the $4100 mark.

On Monday, spurred by market expectations of another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December, as well as a series of weak economic data causing concerns of global economic slowdown, the price of gold rose nearly 2%. As of the time of writing, spot gold rose by 1.83%, to $4073.03 per ounce. December delivery of US gold futures rose by 1.76%, to $4080.50 per ounce. Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, stated: "Gold received strong buying support from traders at the start of the week. Despite the Federal Reserve downplaying the possibility of a rate cut next month, the market still expects a rate cut to happen, driving up the price of this precious metal." Data released last week showed that in October, both government and retail industry jobs in the United States decreased, with cost-cutting by businesses and increased layoffs due to the application of artificial intelligence (AI), causing job losses in the US economy. A survey conducted last Friday showed that, due to concerns about the economic impact of the longest government shutdown in history, US consumer confidence in early November fell to its lowest level in nearly three and a half years. According to the FedWatch tool by CME Group, market participants currently believe there is a 67% chance of a rate cut in December. It is understood that non-interest-bearing gold usually performs well in low interest rate environments and during times of economic uncertainty. On the US government side, on the night of November 9th local time, the Senate passed a temporary funding bill aimed at ending the government shutdown. This bill will provide funding for the government until January 30, 2026. November 9th on US Eastern Time marked the 40th day of the current government shutdown since October 1st. This shutdown has led to federal employees not being paid, delays in food assistance, and disruptions to air travel. According to the procedure, once the bill receives a formal vote in the Senate, it still needs to be voted on by the House of Representatives and then submitted to US President Trump for signing. Waterer pointed out: "Although the shutdown seems to be ending, what follows will be an increase in transparency of key economic indicators - these data have been in short supply since the shutdown began." The announcement by the world's largest gold ETF, SPDR Gold Trust, showed that its holdings rose from 1040.35 tons last Thursday to 1042.06 tons on Friday, an increase of 0.16%. In other precious metals, spot silver rose by 1.9%, to $49.50 per ounce; platinum rose by 1.5%, to $1574.59 per ounce; and palladium rose by 1.1%, to $1398.75 per ounce.